Ukraine has recorded 142 cases of the African swine fever (ASF) virus since the beginning of 2018. That is 13% fewer than in the previous year, the State Food Safety and Consumer Protection Service has said. According to the service’s press release, the disease was registered among domestic pigs – 93 cases, among wild animals – 37 cases. A dozen cases in dead animals near villages were also detected. “Against the general background of the positive dynamics in reducing the number of cases of ASF, there is concern about the increase in the number of infected animal corpses found on landfills and in forest belts. This year, there were a dozen cases,” the service said.
According to the ministry, as in the past year, most cases of the disease were noted during June-September (67 cases).
Last year, the disease was recorded in all regions of Ukraine, but this year, four regions reported no ASF cases: Ivano-Frankivsk, Kirovohrad, Lviv, and Kharkiv.
“The most positive dynamics in reducing the number of cases were observed in Poltava region (eight cases in 2018, 21 cases in 2017), Luhansk (four in 2018, 10 in 2017) and Vinnytsia (two in 2018, eight in 2017),” the service said.
President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine has signed the law on making amendments to the Budget Code (No 9084). A statement on the Verkhovna Rada’s website says the document was returned with the signature of the president on December 22. The amendments to the Budget Code were approved by the parliament at second reading on November 22. In particular, the changes allow for agricultural produces to use up to 20% of state funding they receive for purchasing special wagons for transportation of grains and equipment for producing bioethanol and electric energy out of biomasses.
At present, the Budget Code stipulates that 15% of state funding in 2018 and 20% of state funding in 2019 are to be used by agricultural producers to purchase farming equipment from local manufacturers. In the new edition of this norm, “20%” is replaced with “up to 20%.”
Coal mining enterprises of Ukraine in January-October 2018 reduced extraction of coal by 4.1% (by 1.189 million tonnes) compared to the same period in 2017, to 27.688 million tonnes.
The Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry told Interfax-Ukraine production of coking coal decreased by 11.7% (by 652,500 tonnes), to 4.908 million tonnes, steam coal by 2.3% % (536,800 tonnes), to 22.779 million tonnes.
In October 2018, production of run-of-mine (ROM) coal grew by 5% compared to the same month in 2017, to 2.839 million tonnes.
Coal mining companies managed by the ministry for the ten months ending October 2018 reduced production by 13.3%, to 3.454 million tonnes, in particular production of coking coal was down by 42.8%, to 436,000 tonnes, steam coal decreased by 6.3%, to 3.018 million tonnes.
The mines of Donetsk region for the ten months of this year provided production of 9.253 million tonnes of coal (2.6% less compared to January-October 2017), Luhansk region some 427,300 tonnes (down by 73.3%), Dnipropetrovsk region some 16.594 million tonnes (1.1% more), Lviv region some 1.324 million tonnes (3.8% up), and Volyn region some 89,400 tonnes (1.9% up).
Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers in 2018 has transferred 1.46 million hectares (ha) of agricultural farmland to more than 659 amalgamated territorial communities (ATC), also known as merged/unified territorial communities, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has said.
“We began transferring the land in February 2018. Over the year we gave 659 communities around 1.46 million hectares. Next year we will continue the process, so every newly formed, merged territorial community receives agricultural farmland,” Groysman said on Facebook. He added that on December 22 the government transferred more than 500,000 hectares to municipal ownership of 174 ATCs from 20 regions, completing the process for the communities created before 2018.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food said the transfer of agricultural farmland to ATCs would continue in 2018 for the 185 communities which were formed in 2018.
As earlier reported, the government on January 31, 2018, adopted resolution No. 60-r on transferring ownership of state-owned agricultural land parcels to newly merged communities. The policy facilitated decentralization of land ownership without changing the current legislation.
Ukraine’s State Service for Geodesy, Cartography & Cadastre began the transfer of land from February 1, 2018.
During the first week, 99% of ATCs signed agreements with the service as the first step for receiving the land parcels.
According to the government, some 485 newly merged communities received 958,900 ha of state-owned farmland in the 11 months of 2018.
